After Donovan McNabb was benched and the Philadelphia Eagles throttled by the Baltimore Ravens in Week 12, the 5-5-1 Eagles seemed to have nothing to look forward to but planning for 2009.

Kevin Kolb, McNabb’s successor in a 36-7 loss, clearly wasn’t ready for the gig. So the 32-year-old veteran returned the next week to face the visiting Arizona Cardinals, who loom as next week’s opponent in the NFC Championship game. McNabb responded by throwing four TD passes in a convincing 48-20 victory on Thanksgiving.

McNabb directed the Eagles to a 20-14 must win over the defending champion Giants in Week 14. In the regular-season finale, facing the Cowboys for the final playoff berth, the quarterback threw for two scores in a 44-6 romp over another division rival. Now the Eagles see the Giants again after they defeated the Vikings in last week’s wild-card game, 26-14.

Sunday’s victory gave the Eagles their fifth win in the last six games. Both McNabb and the team have been better since his benching.

McNabb, Before & After Benching in Week 12

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TD. . . Int. . . . .CmpPct. . .Rating. . . . . .Tm Rec
Before Benching. . . . . 14. . . 10. . . . . . .58.8. . . . 81.1. . . . . . . .5-5-1
After Benching*. . . . . .10. . . . 2. . . . . . .64.9. . . . 97.7. . . . . . . .5-1

*includes wild-card playoff win over Minnesota

Playing the Eagles right now is no more appetizing than facing the Baltimore Ravens, who have won nine of their last 11 after bumping off the Titans, the AFC’s No. 1 seed, on Saturday.

The Eagles and Ravens may be on course for a rematch of the game that briefly cost McNabb his job, though a third meeting with the Giants stands in the way. Playing at the Meadowlands hasn’t been a problem for McNabb, who has succeeded on the road against the Giants in recent seasons. In his last five games there, all in the regular season, the Eagles are 4-1.

Sunday marks McNabb’s second playoff matchup with New York. The first was a 20-10 loss to the Kerry Collins-led Giants in the 2000 playoffs, also at the Meadowlands.

Those Giants lost to the Ravens in the Super Bowl, and this year’s Ravens are a good bet to take the field for Super Bowl XLIII. If McNabb is at his best Sunday, the Eagles move one step closer to that rematch.